The Major League Pickleball (MLP) season is right around the corner, less than a week away.
Here is a list of resources for fans to catch up on how we got here.
Rules for 2025
Schedule for 2025
- 2025 Schedule
- 2025 Team by Team Schedule
- MLP Orlando Match Schedule - First event of the year
Teams and Rosters for 2025
If you want to know which teams are playing at which events, all the rules related to MLP in 2025, and much more, check out the links above.
Team by Team Preview
Each team is listed in the order I am predicting they finish the 2025 season, from worst to first. At the end of the article, I provide a chart to show my predictions for the entire season by team.
Let’s get into the action.
16 - New York Hustlers
2024 Regular Season Standings: 6th (36 pts)
The Hustlers made a ton of cash in trades during the offseason (well over $300,000), but chose not to spend this year in the draft.
Zane Ford and Donald Young show a ton of potential upside in doubles, but don't have any real results yet on the PPA Tour. They may upset a few men's teams, but they will definitely struggle early on.
The women's team is the weakest in the entire Premier Level field. I would guess Lingwei Kong will see some playing time if either Spriridis or Schaefer show that they are the weaker player.
Unfortunately, this team is definitely not built to win in 2025. The only way they win matches as they are currently constructed is if Ford wins both his men's doubles and mixed doubles games, and then the team wins in a Dreambreaker.
Projected 2025 Record: 3-22
Projected 2025 Standing: 16th
15 - SoCal Hard Eights
2024 Regular Season Standings: 2nd (41 pts) - Challenger Level
This is another team that is going to really struggle to find wins. The Hard Eights chose to spend the minimum amount of draft points possible on this squad and it feels like a tanking year for them. With that being said, I am surprised they didn't go for younger talent with higher upside.
Castillo is used to playing the right, but Irina is definitely not a Premier Level left side player anymore. I would think the Hard Eights try Castillo on the left, and hope she can feel comfortable there quickly, with her elite level of athleticism.
I know Hovenier was drafted as a "sub", but I could see him overtaking one of the other guys in the lineup fairly quickly. Fu had a very good run with Zane Navratil in a recent PPA event, but other than that, both Fu and Jakovljevic have not had many results.
If either woman struggles in mixed while playing the left side with Ivan, I could easily see SoCal making the switch to Hovenier so the women feel more comfortable.
Projected 2025 Record: 4-21
Projected 2025 Standing: 15th
14 - Miami Pickleball Club
2024 Regular Season Standings: T-3rd (39 pts) - Challenger Level
Miami brings back two of their players from last year, in Rane and Khlif. Rane was kept, and Miami traded Oncins for Khlif at the 2025 draft.
Jay Devilliers has been moving and playing well in 2025, after a small knee procedure toward the end of 2024. Both Devilliers and Khlif are very athletic and capable of upsetting some men's doubles teams. Khlif has never medaled on the PPA Tour, but has made some very good runs with Rafa Hewett and others recently.
Even though Rane is shorter, I think she will play the left side the majority of the time in women's doubles. Bui projects as a dominant right side player in my mind, with more reps. Bui is obviously the X Factor for this team. She was drafted for her upside and potential. The question is, how quickly can Bui adjust to playing the best of the best?
Erik Tice
Projected 2025 Record: 6-19
Projected 2025 Standing: 14th
13 - Atlanta Bouncers
2024 Regular Season Standings: T-3rd (39 pts) - Challenger Level
The Bouncers had a very interesting offseason. They kept both Jaume Martinez Vich (Challenger Level MVP) and Todd Fought, who went 15-8 together in Challenger Level last year.
Glozman was picked up in a trade because Atlanta couldn't keep either of their women, since they aren't signed with the UPA. Glozman was a great pickup for Atlanta and is a top level right side woman, who hasn't played much on the PPA Tour in the past two months due to a contractual issue. She will be looking to prove herself yet again in MLP, after a great year with D.C. last year.
DiMuzio is the newest name on the team and she shows plenty of potential upside. The Canadian is super athletic and has good reach. She prefers the left in women's doubles and the right in mixed doubles, so this is a very good pairing. Atlanta's season will depend on how well DiMuzio is able to adapt to the Premier Level.
This team is just an okay Dreambreaker team, so they are hoping to win in regulation, which i just don't see happening regularly.
Projected 2025 Record: 7-18
Projected 2025 Standing: 13th
12 - Utah Black Diamonds
2024 Regular Season Standings: 12th (14 pts)
The Black Diamonds were very active at the trade deadline in 2024, bringing in cash for players. Garnett and Loong are the only players still on the roster who played for the team last year.
They went 6-13 together last year, but have been playing well on the PPA Tour, both ranked just outside the top 20 in men's doubles this year. The men's doubles team will need to win a lot of games to keep the Black Diamonds in contention for matches.
Jones has really changed her game over the last year to year and a half. Previously known as a defensive specialist, Allyce has definitely added firepower to her game. She has won four medals on the PPA Tour and is playing some of the best pickleball of her career right now.
Safdar is the X Factor here. She is one of the only players in MLP to have come through the collegiate pickleball ranks. She was a DUPR All-American last year and recently signed with the UPA. Safdar can play either side, but slightly prefers the left, so I am guessing she will play the left in both women's and mixed doubles.
If Safdar's learning curve proves to be too steep, Genie Erokhina is a very solid left side player as well, and could seemlessly mix in to play mixed doubles with Loong.
If this team brings the energy and teamwork to their matches, I could see them upsetting some favored teams throughout the season.
Projected 2025 Record: 8-17
Projected 2025 Standing: 12th
11 - Phoenix Flames
2024 Regular Season Standings: 8th (29 pts)
The Flames have been one of the most active teams in the last year, making numerous trades in the off season. They were able to pick up both Jack Sock and Genie Bouchard in the draft.
I don’t see Genie and Jessie winning many games together, other than against the bottom teams. Bouchard has been working on her doubles game, but really hasn't had any breakthrough results as of yet.
Jack and Tyson will be middle of the pack in terms of men’s doubles teams. Sock will need to decrease his unforced errors while staying aggressive, for them to even win half their men's doubles games.
Jessie is extremely good in mixed doubles, and I think Tyson and Jessie will play as the first team in mixed doubles. I could see them winning quite a few matches together, especially if they play against the other team's second best mixed doubles lineup.
This team is probably just hoping to make it to a Dreambreaker, where they are a very good team.
If Jessie can do slightly better than she did last year in Dreambreakers (33% winning percentage on these points) and win 40% of her points, I could see this team winning some matches.
Projected 2025 Record: 9-16
Projected 2025 Standing: 11th
10 - Chicago Slice
2024 Regular Season Standings: 1st (44 pts) - Challenger Level
The Slice had a very difficult job to do in the off-season and the front office delivered. With the new rule of only UPA signed players, they could not keep anyone from last year's Challenger Level Championship winning squad.
They had a great draft, though and will probably be the most competitive team that moved up from Challenger Level to Premier in 2025.
Ignatowich has to play with a chip on his shoulder - a year and a half ago he was known as the second best mixed doubles guy behind Ben Johns. It has been over 130 days since Ignatowich last medaled on the PPA Tour. He is the X Factor for the Slice. If he can stay healthy and keep his floor relatively high, I think the Slice can finish much higher than the 10th I am predicting.
Freeman is a very unknown quantity right now. He has shown flashes of greatness mixed with flashes of missing four or five routine dinks in a match. If he can raise his floor a bit as the season progresses, he will help this team a ton.
The women on this team are very much known commodities. Callie has increased her level a bit in 2025 and will definitely play the left. Viv hasn't had nearly the success she had in 2024, during the 2025 year. Hopefully she is able to find her groove in MLP.
Projected 2025 Record: 11-14
Projected 2025 Standing: 10th
9 - Carolina Hogs
2024 Regular Season Standings: 10th (26 pts)
We haven’t seen Collin and Ben play together since winning The Masters in January. I am guessing they will have a little more fun and freedom because they don’t have the pressure of playing week in and week out with each other.
Christian did just have a Cinderella run with Christa Gecheva into a fourth place finish in Red Rock, but I just don’t see Christian and Emmrich winning many matches in women’s doubles. If this team gets to a Dreambreaker, they are going to rely heavily on Ben and Kaitlyn to win a vast majority of points.
Finally, the elephant in the room is this: to what level do both Ben and Collin try? Last year there was an obvious drop-off in terms of effort level from both, with Collin airing several grievances with MLP. They went a combined 16-7 in men’s doubles in 2024 - good, but definitely nowhere near great.
If the team starts hot, I think both Ben and Collin stay engaged and actually try this season. If the Hogs start off poorly, I could very easily see this season as another “mail it in” season for Ben and Collin. With seven matches in the first two events, we should see the effort level right away.
Projected 2025 Record: 12-13
Projected 2025 Standing: 9th
8 - Orlando Squeeze
2024 Regular Season Standings: 9th (28 pts)
The Squeeze were one of the biggest underperforming teams in 2024. Sure, there were teams that finished worse than them, but the expectations were high for the Squeeze. They dealt with injuries, sickness, and a little bit of mailing it in toward the end of the season.
This new-look team is very interesting. I am very high on Fed, Dylan, and Lacy as individual players. Parker is obviously the biggest question mark, only playing in MLP in last year’s Mid-Season Tournament as a sub for the Bay Area Breakers.
If Parker can win at least 30% of her games, I think this team has a chance to be very good. This is a sneaky good Dreambreaker team and easily top 5 in that category.
The mixed doubles teams are a question mark for me. Is Orlando going to make an A team and a B team? 1a and 1b? We will find out. I assume Fed will play with Lacy and Dylan with Samantha to start, but time will tell.
Projected 2025 Record: 13-12
Projected 2025 Standing: 8th
7 - LA Mad Drops
2024 Regular Season Standings: 7th (31 pts)
The Mad Drops were extremely unlucky last year with the Thomas Wilson health issue.
Jade and Hunter overperformed their draft slots, and went 14-8 together in mixed doubles as the second team. Both players are very undervalued in their doubles game and are very solid players and even better teammates.
Catherine will have a chip on her shoulder going into MLP 2025, with the Anna Leigh break up fueling her to prove herself a little bit. She was taken 9th overall last year, but finished 27th in terms of player performance, by my results. Again, a lot of that had to do with the fact that she was playing with subs for most of the season.
Quang played very well for the Ranchers in 2024, but on the PPA Tour in 2025, he hasn't really had as much sustained success. In fact, the only doubles medal Duong earned was in men's doubles with CJ Klinger in a severely lower level field in PPA Australia.
This team is a little bit of a mystery to me. I would not be shocked to see them sneak into the top 5 and I wouldn't be surprised if they barely made the playoffs. They have way too much upside to miss out on the playoffs, so I think their goal should be to squeek into the top six and avoid the play in games.
Projected 2025 Record: 14-11
Projected 2025 Standing: 7th
6 - D.C. Pickleball Team
2024 Regular Season Standings: 4th (39 pts)
D.C. finished fourth last year and bring back Rohrabacher and Bar, their two most consistent players. They traded for Jackie Kawamoto in the off season. I am interested to see how women’s doubles is played. I am guessing they will play a straight-up style, and stack either player on the left if someone has the hot hand.
Dekel is playing lights out now, and has been for at least six months. Newman is the X Factor for this team. I believe as he goes, so goes the D.C. team. Newman played and won for D.C. in 2023, with Jackie, so there is already a lot of history and chemistry.
Newman has a track record of not being the best partner and most engaged teammate, but seems to have really been working on that over the past year. I have noticed a vast improvement in that department for him.
Newman and Bar are an interesting men’s pairing - who will play the left and right? I think I would like to see them try Newman on the left with Dekel playing a huge right side to start the season, but mix it up if that doesn’t work out.
Projected 2025 Record: 15-10
Projected 2025 Standing: 6th
5 - Texas Ranchers
2024 Regular Season Standings: 5th (38 pts)
The Ranchers have been known to make some bold moves in the last year. First, they traded Pablo to Brooklyn in the middle of the 2024, to pick up generally unknown Quang Duong at the time. That gamble paid off in a big way, helping Texas advance to the semifinals in the playoffs.
Just after (or during) the draft, the Texans made another bold move, trading Noe Khlif for Eric Oncins. Oncins is a newer UPA signee, and started playing on the PPA Tour in 2025. He has shown some real flashes of potential in both men's doubles and mixed doubles.
One of the question marks for this team is Etta's health. She had some injury/health related issues last year and hasn't played in all the PPA Tour events this year in 2025. If she can remain healthy and available throughout the season, I think this team is destined for a top five finish.
Alshon is playing lights out right now and thrives in the team environment, so I expect that to carry over into MLP. Pisnik has been super steady for over a year now, and taking her in last year's draft at the 30 slot looks like a steal now.
Of note, I believe Texas' bench players to be the best bench combo in all of MLP. Should any of their starters get injured, both Loyd and Jansen can step in right away and be Premier Level ready.
Projected 2025 Record: 16-9
Projected 2025 Standing: 5th
4 - Columbus Sliders
2024 Regular Season Standings: 16th (21 pts)
The Sliders are one of the unique teams in 2025 that don’t have any players on the team that played together last year in MLP.
Andrei Daescu is ranked as the #1 men’s doubles player on the PPA Tour. Klinger is also top 10 in both doubles events. The men’s doubles team has to be considered one of the best, having already won PPA Daytona Beach at the end of 2024.
The women are both top 15 in all three categories on the PPA Tour, and both Lea and Parris are playing great doubles right now. Parris has gotten much better on the left, so both players can play both sides. This could be a very good women's doubles team.
I think this team has a high likelihood of finishing top 5. However, I also think this team is the best team that could have trouble gelling and has the highest percent chance of finishing outside the top 7 among the favorites this year.
Projected 2025 Record: 17-8
Projected 2025 Standing: 4th
3 - St. Louis Shock
2024 Regular Season Standings: 2nd (52 pts)
The Shock are running 2025 back with the same team they had in 2024, with the additions of Lange and Di Laura.
I think the semifinal loss to the Flash in the playoffs is going to fuel this team headed into 2025.
Anna Bright finished the 2024 season going 38-8, ranked as the second best player, only behind Anna Leigh Waters. Fahey has only gotten better in doubles from last year, and is playing at a very high level. These two will win a ton of matches.
Speaking of playing well, Tardio and Patriquin have already won a combined 16 medals in 2025. Patriquin is one of the most adaptable players in the men's game, being able to play both the left and right at a super high level.
The one area of weakness for this team last year was Fahey and Tardio in mixed doubles. They went 5-18, one of the worst records in that category. First, Fahey is MUCH better in mixed doubles comapred to last year - she won bronze in Tucson with Dylan Frazier. Secondly, I would not be surprised to see St. Louis change up the mixed lineups, pairing Tardio with Bright and Patriquin with Fahey.
This team is poised for another great year in 2025.
Projected 2025 Record: 18-7
Projected 2025 Standing: 3rd
2 - Dallas Flash
2024 Regular Season Standings: 3rd (46 pts)
The defending 2024 MLP Champions are running the same exact team back, with the additions of Ruhl and Stone.
Jorja and Tyra just beat Anna Leigh Waters and Catherine Parenteau in North Carolina and their confidence level couldn’t be higher. Couple that with the first win for the Johnsons over Ben and Anna Leigh in the last 17 attempts, this team is already firing on all cylinders.
Every member of the Flash finished ranked in the top 15 in the regular season in 2024. JW and Jorja were both top 10, going a combined 65-27.
The biggest question mark? Augie Ge. Can the lefty stay consistent throughout the MLP season? After the playoffs of MLP 2024, there were shouts of MVP for Ge. Since then? Zero medals on the PPA Tour in 2025. He goes through some major ups and downs in certain months. Which Augie is Dallas going to get throughout the 2025 season?
Projected 2025 Record: 19-6
Projected 2025 Standing: 2nd
1 - New Jersey 5s
2024 Regular Season Standings: 1st (54 pts)
The best team in the 2024 regular season may have gotten better in the off season.
Waters dominated play, only losing three total games in the regular season. To go 43-3 is a crazy stat line - one of which I am unsure she can match in 2025. This is why she won Premier Level MVP last year.
Howells proved to be one of the major steals of the 2024 draft at 37th, going 33-13, tied with JW Johnson. While overall, they went 12-11 together, Howells and Navratil were 10-4 in their last three events in 2024.
With Dizon, both ALW and Zane can play on the left, where they are they are best.
This team has three 'dawgs' in Navratil, Howells, and Waters. The biggest question mark is Dizon - can she hold up to the pressure of playing with Anna Leigh? The 5s have a chip on their shoulder for the Finals loss to the Flash in 2024, and I think they are picturing 2025 as their revenge tour.
Projected 2025 Record: 20-5
Projected 2025 Standing: 1st
Final Standings Predictions and Champion
Championship prediction: The New Jersey 5s beat the St. Louis Shock in the championship in New York.
The action starts Thursday, March 24th, in MLP Orlando. Stay tuned next week for a full preview of that event.
